In this short video, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the United Kingdom, Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, explains why children are blessed on Shabbat and why the blessings differ for sons and
This article shows how the ritual blessing over the children on Shabbat can be used as an opportunity to infuse spirituality and intention into the sometimes challenging and mundane experience
This post presents the blessing for the children using both traditional male God-language as well as feminine God-language, reflecting a blend of Jewish tradition with modern feminist approaches. The two versions of the traditional
This instructional post provides the Hebrew audio and the Hebrew, English and transliterated text of the blessing over the children according to the Reform tradition, which makes a slight modification to the
This sweet animated video includes a brief explanation about why Jewish parents traditionally bless their children on Shabbat, as well as various customs that different families may practice, and the Hebrew, English
This music video features Israeli artist, Michael Ben Naim, and a woman (presumably his wife) singing his original, emotive melody for the Hebrew blessing over their children. Whereas the blessing traditionally begins
This post describes the way in which one family includes all four generations present at their Shabbat table when performing the blessing over the children. Dale Schatz writes how each
In this short recording, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove of Park Avenue (Conservative) Synagogue in New York City blesses the children in his congregation with the blessing traditionally said by parents on Friday night.
In this essay, Rabbi Leah Doberne-Schor shares why it is important for parents to go beyond the traditional text to bless their children with their own “secret Shabbat blessing,” based on
In this video, American-Israeli singer Yehuda Katz performs the traditional Friday night blessing for daughters in Hebrew. In order to show respect for the sanctity of God’s name, the word “Hashem” (literally, ‘the name’) is